Home at last: Save one, Morning Glory crew reunited with families
Families thank Pakistani authorities, media and civil society .
Relatives greet Mehdi Shamsi, Second Officer of Morning Glory, at Karachi airport. PHOTO: APP
LAHORE/KARACHI:
It was amidst rose petals and warm embraces that the Pakistani crewmembers of the Morning Glory oil tanker were welcomed upon their return to the country Saturday morning at the Jinnah International Airport. One remaining member is yet to be handed over by the Libyan government.
Similar scenes and sentiment were witnessed in Lahore, where the wife of Captain Mirza Nauman Baig expressed profound gratitude to government officials, media and human right activists who facilitated the recovery of the hostages.
“The period during which Baig and his subordinates remained in captivity was extreme misery for us,” Quratul Ain said, referring to her husband and other crew members. “We knocked on all doors for help and we got help.”
Out of the five crew members who reached Karachi, four including second officer Mehdi Shamsi, third officer Syed Asif Hassan, crew members Mohammad Irshad and Naik Zada touched down Saturday morning, as the captain flew directly to Lahore.
Chief officer Ghufran Marghoob, who is still in Libya, is said to be assisting the authorities in offloading cargo from the vessel.
At the Karachi airport, an emotional Asif Hassan kissed his young son and said his return marks a new life. “When we were stuck at sea and no help was coming, we thought it was the end,” he said. His brother Tauseef said it was a difficult time for the family but that they are elated that they have been reunited.
The Morning Glory oil tanker belonging to a Dubai-based shipping company had set off from an Egyptian port on February 25 with a 21-member crew, which along with six Pakistanis included six Indians, three Sri Lankans, two Syrians, two Sudanese and two Eritreans.
On March 8, when the ship was at a Libyan port, it was taken hostage by rebels who loaded oil and forced the crew to move the vessel out of the territory. The crew was rescued on March 16 when US Navy Seals carried out an operation, took the rebels into custody and recovered the crew and vessel, along with oil worth $20 million.
After spending a few days in a detention centre in Tripoli, the crew was handed over by the Libyan government to the Pakistani ambassador, Javed Zia. Second officer Mehdi Shamsi, whose home was flooded with friends and family in celebration, said that Syrian, Sudanese and Sri Lankans were still in Libya along with one Pakistani. He said they have been instructed not to speak about the unfortunate incident till their remaining crew member is released.
The 26-year-old, clad in a Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt, summed up his trip as a ‘bad experience’. However, he plans to return to sea for work. “It’s all part of life, and I had been trained to deal with such situations.” The young man said, however, that he would now be careful, and before taking up any shipping contract would investigate the agents and companies involved.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2014.
It was amidst rose petals and warm embraces that the Pakistani crewmembers of the Morning Glory oil tanker were welcomed upon their return to the country Saturday morning at the Jinnah International Airport. One remaining member is yet to be handed over by the Libyan government.
Similar scenes and sentiment were witnessed in Lahore, where the wife of Captain Mirza Nauman Baig expressed profound gratitude to government officials, media and human right activists who facilitated the recovery of the hostages.
“The period during which Baig and his subordinates remained in captivity was extreme misery for us,” Quratul Ain said, referring to her husband and other crew members. “We knocked on all doors for help and we got help.”
Out of the five crew members who reached Karachi, four including second officer Mehdi Shamsi, third officer Syed Asif Hassan, crew members Mohammad Irshad and Naik Zada touched down Saturday morning, as the captain flew directly to Lahore.
Chief officer Ghufran Marghoob, who is still in Libya, is said to be assisting the authorities in offloading cargo from the vessel.
At the Karachi airport, an emotional Asif Hassan kissed his young son and said his return marks a new life. “When we were stuck at sea and no help was coming, we thought it was the end,” he said. His brother Tauseef said it was a difficult time for the family but that they are elated that they have been reunited.
The Morning Glory oil tanker belonging to a Dubai-based shipping company had set off from an Egyptian port on February 25 with a 21-member crew, which along with six Pakistanis included six Indians, three Sri Lankans, two Syrians, two Sudanese and two Eritreans.
On March 8, when the ship was at a Libyan port, it was taken hostage by rebels who loaded oil and forced the crew to move the vessel out of the territory. The crew was rescued on March 16 when US Navy Seals carried out an operation, took the rebels into custody and recovered the crew and vessel, along with oil worth $20 million.
After spending a few days in a detention centre in Tripoli, the crew was handed over by the Libyan government to the Pakistani ambassador, Javed Zia. Second officer Mehdi Shamsi, whose home was flooded with friends and family in celebration, said that Syrian, Sudanese and Sri Lankans were still in Libya along with one Pakistani. He said they have been instructed not to speak about the unfortunate incident till their remaining crew member is released.
The 26-year-old, clad in a Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt, summed up his trip as a ‘bad experience’. However, he plans to return to sea for work. “It’s all part of life, and I had been trained to deal with such situations.” The young man said, however, that he would now be careful, and before taking up any shipping contract would investigate the agents and companies involved.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2014.